Day two of Scotland Loves Anime 2025 in Edinburgh brought a fantastic slice of 90s nostalgia to the screen: You’re Under Arrest: The Movie. After a rocky start to the week’s lineup, this was a welcome return to form.
Based on the long-running action-comedy series about a municipal police department, this film adaptation is a real treat. The best news? If you’ve never seen an episode of You’re Under Arrest, or read any of the manga, you can absolutely dive straight into this movie and have a brilliant time. It stands perfectly on its own.
High-Speed Action
The series might be known for its plucky cops on traffic duty, but the movie wastes no time proving this isn’t just about parking tickets. In the opening moments, our heroes are diffusing a bomb, which, naturally, has caused a terrible traffic jam for the traffic cops to sort out. This is quickly followed by the discovery of hidden guns in an abandoned car, a dramatic find for a local police station.
From that point, the plot just escalates. While the film perhaps slows down just a little in its second quarter, it more than compensates when the chaos gets into top gear. The resulting action is relentless, exciting, and thoroughly entertaining.
The Bokuto Station Crew
The heart of the film is its cast. The story centres on a bunch of plucky young policewomen who are the story’s main action heroes. They are capable, determined, and, best of all, feel like genuine buddies. They are all ‘goodies’, and honestly, there wasn’t a single character I disliked.
Yes, there are male characters, and they often fill familiar archetypes: the grim, slightly out-of-shape police detective or the occasional hunk who appears just in time to catch a falling woman. But it all works. The movie feels well-balanced, presenting a fun and interesting team that is easy to root for.
Overall
This is a perfectly fun, straightforward adventure romp. It’s energetic, engaging, and exactly the sort of movie the festival needed.
You can vote for You’re Under Arrest: The Movie in our unofficial fan awards for Scotland Loves Anime in Edinburgh.
